Benjamin McCann

APrf Benjamin McCann

Associate Professor

School of Humanities

College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I completed my PhD in 1930s French Cinema at the University of Bristol. I am particularly interested in French 'Poetic Realist' cinema, the films of Marcel Carné and Julien Duvivier, set design and film decor, film adaptation, French horror films, and the audience reception of French films.I held the position of Head of French Studies from January 2016 to September 2021.I was the French Film editor for the Year's Work in Modern Language Studies from 2014 to 2017.I have been awarded five 'teaching excellence' prizes: the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2008), a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council: 'For using language immersion, along with joie de vivre, to motivate students and inspire engagement in French grammar, literature and culture' (2010), the Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Teaching (in 2011 and 2022), and a Commendation for the Enhancement and Innovation of Student Learning (2021).In 2009, I was part of a team awarded a $219,000 grant from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) entitled "A collaborative multi-faceted approach to address the gaps between student expectation and experience at university" and in 2014, I was part of a team awarded a $60,000 grant from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) to explore the experiences of first-in-family students at the University of Adelaide.

Date Position Institution name
2016 - 2020 Head of French Studies University of Adelaide
2012 - 2018 Director, Student Experience, Faculty of Arts University of Adelaide
2006 - ongoing Associate Professor of French Studies University of Adelaide

Language Competency
French Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Date Institution name Country Title
University of Bristol United Kingdom PhD
University of Oxford United Kingdom BA / MA

Date Title Institution name Country
— Graduate Certificate in Higher Education University of Adelaide -

Year Citation
2025 McCANN, B. E. N. (2025). Lang and Godard: The Dinosaur and the Baby. Australian Journal of French Studies, 62(2), 110-122.
DOI
2024 McCANN, B. E. N. (2024). In Praise of a Character Actor: Raymond Aimos, 1930s French Cinema and the Margins of Stardom. Australian Journal of French Studies, 61(4), 416-429.
DOI
2024 McCann, B. (2024). Special issue: French television then and now. French Screen Studies, 24(1), 1-16.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2023 McCann, B. (2023). Editorial - Special dossier: French film studies in Australia. French Screen Studies, 23(1), 46-51.
DOI
2022 McCann, B., & Sitbon, C. (2022). Voicing Resilience: Emerging Voices in French and Francophone Studies Introduction. Australian Journal of French Studies, 59(3), 219-224.
DOI
2021 McCann, B. (2021). “Une force qui va”: Reflections on Gérard Depardieu in Danton. Australian Journal of French Studies, 58(1), 88-99.
DOI
2019 McCann, B. (2019). Cédric Klapisch and 'pop art' cinema. Senses of Cinema.
2019 McCann, B. E. (2019). History, truth and (mis)representation in Versailles (2015-2018). Australian Journal of French Studies, 56(2), 141-155.
DOI
2019 McCann, B. E. (2019). 'On ne sait pas grand-chose de nos enfants': Grief and Mourning in Guillaume Nicloux's Valley of Love (2015). The Irish Journal of French Studies, 19(1), 123-143.
DOI
2018 Edwards, N., Hogarth, C., & McCann, B. (2018). Mobility and migration in France and the Francophone world. Australian journal of French studies, 55(1), 3-5.
DOI Scopus1
2018 McCann, B. (2018). ‘Ici, une immense usine perfectionnée; là, une chambre meublée de faubourg’: Julien Duvivier, mobility and migration. French Cultural Studies, 29(1), 59-69.
DOI Scopus1
2017 McCann, B. (2017). Julien Duvivier. Senses of Cinema, (82).
2017 Luzeckyj, A., McCann, B., Graham, C., King, S., & McCann, J. (2017). Being First in Family: motivations and metaphors. Higher Education Research and Development, 36(6), 1237-1250.
DOI Scopus19 WoS15
2016 Pugsley, P., & McCann, B. (2016). Female protagonists and the role of smoking in Chinese and French cinema. Asian Cinema, 27(1), 59-83.
DOI
2016 Pugsley, P., McCann, B., & Pongiyannan, D. (2016). Rajinikanth and Brando: carnivalesque performances of two aging superstars. Studies in South Asian Film and Media, 8(1), 27-45.
DOI
2015 McCann, B., & Andreo, B. (2015). Introduction. Australian Journal of French Studies, 52(2), 107-111.
DOI
2013 McCann, B. (2013). Jean Dujardin, OSS 117, and the art of the spoof. Essays in French Literature and Culture, 50, 69-85.
2011 McCann, B. (2011). Marcel Carne. Senses of Cinema, 58, 1-17.
2011 McCann, B. (2011). 'Je disais tout haut ce que beaucoup pensaient tout bas!': Marcel Carné, film critic. French Studies Bulletin, 32(120), 57-62.
DOI
2009 McCann, B. (2009). What Trauner Did Next: The Continuation of a French Design Aesthetic in an American Context. French Cultural Studies, 20(1), 65-81.
DOI Scopus1
2009 McCann, B. (2009). '(Under)scoring poetic realism' - Maurice Jaubert and 1930s' French cinema. Studies in French Cinema, 9(1), 37-48.
DOI Scopus8
2009 Brinkworth, R., McCann, B., Matthews, C., & Nordstrom, K. (2009). First year expectations and experiences: student and teacher perspectives. Higher Education, 58(2), 157-173.
DOI Scopus168 WoS146
2008 McCann, B. (2008). Pierced Borders, Punctured Bodies: the Contemporary French Horror Film. Australian Journal of French Studies, 45(3), 225-237.
DOI Scopus8
2008 McCann, B. (2008). 'If it's not Disney, what is it?': Traditional animation techniques in Les Triplettes de Belleville. French Studies Bulletin, 29(108), 59-62.
DOI Scopus1
2004 McCann, B. (2004). 'A discreet character?' Action spaces and architectural specificity in French poetic realist cinema. Screen, 45(4), 375-382.
DOI Scopus11

Year Citation
2022 Pugsley, P. C., & McCann, B. (2022). The Cinematic Influence Interaction and Exchange Between the Cinemas of France and Japan (USA ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
Scopus1
2019 King, S., Luzeckyj, A., & McCann, B. (2019). The Experience of Being First in Family at University Pioneers in Higher Education. Singapore: Springer Nature.
DOI
2018 McCann, B. (2018). L' Auberge Espagnole European Youth on Film. Oxford; United Kingdom: Routledge.
DOI Scopus4
2017 McCann, B. (2017). Julien Duvivier. Manchester, United Kingdom: Manchester University Press.
Scopus6
2015 Edwards, N. J., McCann, B., & Poiana, P. (Eds.) (2015). Framing French Culture. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press.
DOI
2014 McCann, B. (2014). Le Jour Se Lève: French film guide. United Kingdom: IB Tauris.
2014 McCann, B. (2014). LE JOUR SE LÈVE.
2013 McCann, B. (2013). Ripping open the set : French film design, 1930-1939. Switzerland: Peter Lang Publishing.
2011 McCann, B., & Sorfa, D. (Eds.) (2011). The Cinema of Michael Haneke: Europe Utopia. United States: Columbia University Press.

Year Citation
2019 McCann, B. E. (2019). ‘Je veux promouvoir le vivre ensemble’: Youth and Friendship in L’Auberge espagnole, Les Poupées russes and Casse-tête chinois. In R. Chareyron, & G. Viennot (Eds.), Screening Youth: Contemporary French and Francophone Cinema (pp. 206-221). Edinburgh, Scotland; United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press.
2015 Edwards, N., McCann, B., & Poiana, P. (2015). The doubling of the frame - Visual art and discourse. In N. Edwards, B. McCann, & P. Poiana (Eds.), Framing French Culture (1 ed., pp. 3-25). Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press.
DOI
2015 McCann, B. (2015). The return of Trauner: Late style in 1970s and 1980s French film design. In N. Edwards, B. McCann, & P. Poiana (Eds.), Framing French Culture (1 ed., pp. 157-173). Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press.
DOI
2014 McCann, B. E. (2014). A nous la liberté/Freedom is ours (1931). In S. Haenni, S. Barrow, & J. White (Eds.), The Routledge Encyclopedia of Film (pp. 11-14). London: Routledge.
2014 McCann, B. E. (2014). Boudu sauvé des eaux/Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932). In S. Haeni, S. Barrow, & J. White (Eds.), The Routledge Encyclopedia of Films (pp. 115-118). London: Routledge.
2014 McCann, B. E. (2014). Les enfants du Paradis/Children of Paradise (1945). In S. Haenni, S. Barrow, & L. White (Eds.), The Routledge Encyclopedia of Films (pp. 220-222). London: Routledge.
2014 McCann, B. E. (2014). Mon oncle/My Uncle (1958). In S. Haenni, S. Barrow, & J. White (Eds.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Film (pp. 353-356). London: Routledge.
2014 McCann, B. (2014). À nous la liberté/Freedom is ours (1931). In Routledge Encyclopedia of Films (pp. 12-14).
2013 McCann, B. (2013). Body horror. In J. Ashton, & J. Walliss (Eds.), To see the Saw movies: essays on torture porn and post-9-11 horror (1 ed., pp. 30-44). United States: McFarland & Company, Inc.
2013 McCann, B. (2013). Horror. In T. Palmer, & C. Michael (Eds.), Directory of world cinema: France (1 ed., pp. 277-283). United States: University of Chicago Press.
2013 McCann, B. (2013). Directors: Julien Duvivier. In T. Palmer, & C. Michael (Eds.), Directory of world cinema: France (1 ed., pp. 17-20). Unted States: University of Chicago Press.
2011 McCann, B. (2011). A Many Splendoured Thing?: Plural Visions of the City in Paris, je t'aime. In J. McCormack, M. Pratt, & A. Rolls (Eds.), Hexagonal Variations: Diversity, Plurality and Reinvention in Contemporary France (Vol. 359, 1 ed., pp. 339-354). Netherlands: Rodopi.
DOI
2011 McCann, B., & Sorfa, D. (2011). Introduction. In B. McCann, & D. Sorfa (Eds.), The Cinema of Michael Haneke: Europe Utopia (1 ed., pp. 1-9). New York: Wallflower Press.
DOI Scopus2
2011 McCann, B. (2011). Acting, Performance and the Bressonian Impulse in Haneke's Films. In B. McCann, & D. Sorfa (Eds.), The Cinema of Michael Haneke: Europe Utopia (1 ed., pp. 24-37). United States: Columbia University Press.
2008 McCann, B. (2008). "Du verre, rien que de verre": negotiating utopia in Playtime. In John West Sooby (Ed.), Nowhere is perfect: French and francophone utopias/dystopias (pp. 195-210). Australia: University of Delaware Press.
2007 McCann, B. (2007). Bliss in blueness: Colour strategies in the films of Michael Mann. In Wendy Everett (Ed.), Questions of Colour in Cinema (pp. 141-160). UK: Peter Lang Publishing.
2006 McCann, B. (2006). Les Enfants du Paradis [Children of Paradise]. In The Cinema of France (pp. 51-59). Wallflower Press.
2003 McCann, B. (2003). "Enjoying the Scenery": Landscape and the Fetishisation of Nature in 'Badlands' and 'Days of Heaven'. In The Cinema of Terrence Malick: Poetic Visions of America (pp. 75-85). London: Wallflower Press.

Year Citation
2014 Brinkworth, R., McCann, B., King, S., Burke da Silva, K., Luzeckyj, A., Scutter, S., . . . McCann, J. (2014). Student and staff expectations and experiences: Office for Learning and Teaching Final Report. OLT web site: OLT.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Principal Supervisor Auteur Policy, French female directors, and the influence of the French New Wave movement Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Travis John Jenner
2025 Co-Supervisor Satie, Cocteau, Picasso and the Circus: the collaboration of "Parade" (1917) Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Cathy Lynette Duncan
2025 Co-Supervisor Satie, Cocteau, Picasso and the Circus: the collaboration of "Parade" (1917) Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Cathy Lynette Duncan
2025 Principal Supervisor Auteur Policy, French female directors, and the influence of the French New Wave movement Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Travis John Jenner
2023 Principal Supervisor The use of three-dimensionality and flatness in the films of Isao Takahata Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Idris Matthaeus Kellermann Williams
2023 Principal Supervisor The use of three-dimensionality and flatness in the films of Isao Takahata Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Idris Matthaeus Kellermann Williams

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2022 - 2025 Co-Supervisor The Power of ‘Bollywood’: How Indian Cinema Bridges Cultural and Socio-political Divides between India and China Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Yanyan Hong
2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Western China on Screen: Cinema and Urban Exploration as Thirdspace Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Hongyan Zou
2014 - 2017 Principal Supervisor Les Instants De Recueillement Et De Souvenir: La Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale Et Le Cinema Francais De 1995 A Nos Jours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Lisa Harper Campbell
2011 - 2015 Co-Supervisor L'EXCLUSION DES FEMMES DE LA VIE POLITIQUE : LA REPRESENTATION DES FEMMES POLITIQUES EN TANT QUE CANDIDATES A LA MAGISTRATURE SUPREME DANS LA CINQUIEME REPUBLIQUE. The Exclusion of Women from the World of Politics: The Representation of Female Politicians Running for the Highest Office in the Fifth French Republic. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Robert John Armstrong
2010 - 2013 Co-Supervisor Cinematic Charisma as a political gateway in South India: The case of Tamil Nadu Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Dhamu Pongiyannan
2009 - 2011 Co-Supervisor Business Strategic Management in the 21st Century - Is the Primary Focus still on Shareholder Value? Doctor of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Robert John Armstrong
2008 - 2014 Co-Supervisor Histoire(s) of Art and the Commodity: Love, Death, and the Search for Community in William Gaddis and Jean-Luc Godard Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Damien Marwood

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